"Every act of kindness is a charity." and "Do not regard any act of kindness as insignificant, even meeting your brother with a cheerful countenance.
Muhammad, Ahadith
These are two of my favorites ahadith, the sayings of the Prophet. Obviously they are related in theme. As I've discussed way too often, and will doubtless continue to discuss way too often, I think the main point of the faith is fairly simple - or at least the part that appeals to me is fairly simple. As Muslims we don't believe in an eye for an eye, rather we are repeatedly instructed to return the worse with the better. There are so many things about the faith that I don't understand and that I can't control, but I can control my response to the people I meet and the obstacles I encounter, even if I don't often initially handle them gracefully. Charity is one of the Five Pillars and it's to think of it only in relation to giving 2.5% of your worth to the poor or building a mosque, but this hadith makes it clear that many things constitute charity. Simply being kind is charity, and that kindness can be nothing more than "meeting your brother with a cheerful countenance." Years ago my dear friend Jim Gonzalez, who I taught with a Georgia Perimeter College, used to chide me for my habit of yelling at administrators but saying "yes, ma'am" to every waitress, so maybe I'm actually a nicer person than I assume I am (unless, naturally, your're an administrator), but I know that since my conversion I concentrate even harder on how I greet other people and respond to them.
Muhammad, Ahadith
These are two of my favorites ahadith, the sayings of the Prophet. Obviously they are related in theme. As I've discussed way too often, and will doubtless continue to discuss way too often, I think the main point of the faith is fairly simple - or at least the part that appeals to me is fairly simple. As Muslims we don't believe in an eye for an eye, rather we are repeatedly instructed to return the worse with the better. There are so many things about the faith that I don't understand and that I can't control, but I can control my response to the people I meet and the obstacles I encounter, even if I don't often initially handle them gracefully. Charity is one of the Five Pillars and it's to think of it only in relation to giving 2.5% of your worth to the poor or building a mosque, but this hadith makes it clear that many things constitute charity. Simply being kind is charity, and that kindness can be nothing more than "meeting your brother with a cheerful countenance." Years ago my dear friend Jim Gonzalez, who I taught with a Georgia Perimeter College, used to chide me for my habit of yelling at administrators but saying "yes, ma'am" to every waitress, so maybe I'm actually a nicer person than I assume I am (unless, naturally, your're an administrator), but I know that since my conversion I concentrate even harder on how I greet other people and respond to them.
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